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Man. City vs Real Madrid facts

  • Manchester City's bid to reach a second successive UEFA Champions League final pits them against Real Madrid, who are in the last four for the tenth time in 12 seasons.
  • This is only City's third UEFA Champions League semi-final, all in the last seven seasons, with the first having ended in defeat by Madrid, although the English club gained a measure of revenge with a last-16 elimination of the Spanish side in 2019/20.
  • Madrid have won 16 European Cup semi-finals overall including four of the previous nine they have been involved in since 2010/11.
  • This is a second successive Anglo-Spanish contest for both teams. City edged out Madrid's neighbours Atlético in the quarter-finals while Karim Benzema scored four of his team's five goals as Madrid ousted holders Chelsea, who beat City in last season's final.

  • Previous meetings
    City were 2-1 winners in both legs against Madrid in the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League round of 16 despite falling behind in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabéu on 26 February when Isco gave the home side a 60th-minute lead. Late goals from Gabriel Jesus (78) and Kevin De Bruyne (83), the latter a penalty after Raheem Sterling had been fouled by Dani Carvajal, turned the game around, Madrid ending with ten men as captain Sergio Ramos was dismissed four minutes from time after fouling Jesus.
  • That was City's first victory against Madrid but they clinched their aggregate win with a second in the delayed second leg in Manchester on 7 August. Although Sterling's ninth-minute goal was levelled 19 minutes later by Benzema, Jesus secured another 2-1 victory in the 68th minute.
  • There was only one goal in the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League semi-final between the clubs. After the first game in Manchester ended scoreless, a 20th-minute own goal from Fernando at the Santiago Bernabéu proved enough to take Zinédine Zidane's Madrid into the final, where they beat Atlético on penalties, at the expense of Manuel Pellegrini's City.
  • The sides' only other competitive fixtures came in the 2012/13 group stage, when Madrid twice came from behind to win 3-2 in Spain on Matchday 1. City led twice through Edin Džeko (68) and Aleksandar Kolarov (85) but Madrid responded through Marcelo (76) and Benzema (87) before Cristiano Ronaldo snatched a 90th-minute victory.
  • It was 1-1 in Manchester, Sergio Agüero's penalty cancelling out Benzema's tenth-minute strike. Madrid ended with ten men as Álvaro Arbeloa collected a second yellow card in fouling Agüero to concede that spot kick.
  • Those four points helped José Mourinho's Madrid finish second in Group D, behind Borussia Dortmund; City, then managed by Roberto Mancini, ended bottom with three points having not won a game.

Form guide
Manchester City

  • City's record in European Cup semi-finals is W1 L1:
    2015/16 Real Madrid L 0-1 (0-0 h, 0-1 a)
    2020/21 Paris Saint-Germain W 4-1 (2-1 a, 2-0 h)
  • The Manchester club have played in two other UEFA competition semi-finals, both in the European Cup Winners' Cup. They beat Schalke in 1969/70 (0-1 a, 5-1 h) but lost to Chelsea at the same stage the following season (0-1 a, 0-1 h).
  • City have therefore won only two of their four home legs in UEFA semi-finals (D1 L1).
  • City collected 12 points in this season's group stage to finish a point clear of Paris, winning all three home games – and scoring 12 goals in the process in defeating Leipzig (6-3), Club Brugge (4-1) and Paris (2-1). They then eased past Sporting CP in the round of 16 thanks to a 5-0 win in Portugal and a goalless draw in Manchester.
  • In the quarter-final against Atlético, De Bruyne scored the only goal of the tie with 20 minutes remaining of the first leg in Manchester, City holding out for a goalless draw in Madrid to progress.
  • In 2020/21 City ended a run of three successive quarter-final eliminations by going all the way to the UEFA Champions League final only to lose 1-0 to Chelsea at Porto's Estádio do Dragão on 29 May.
  • City beat Borussia Mönchengladbach (2-0 a, 2-0 h), Borussia Dortmund (2-1 h, 2-1 a) and Paris (2-1 a, 2-0 h) en route to the final. They had finished first in Group C with 16 points, keeping five clean sheets and conceding only one goal – equalling the UEFA Champions League group stage record.
  • City conceded ten goals in the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League group stage, five more than in their 13 games in last season's competition, although they have since kept four clean sheets from four matches in the knockout phase having not managed one before the round of 16 first leg.
  • Champions of England for the seventh time in 2020/21, their third title in four seasons, City also claimed the English League Cup for the fourth season in a row and the eighth overall.
  • This is the Cityzens' 11th UEFA Champions League campaign; they have been involved in the group stage every season since 2011/12 and have now reached the knockout rounds in nine successive campaigns.
  • Pep Guardiola's team are unbeaten in 19 home European matches (W17 D2) since a 2-1 loss against Lyon on Matchday 1 in 2018/19, winning 11 of the last 12 with the exception of this season's draw with Sporting.
  • City have won seven of their last eight home matches in the UEFA Champions League knockout phase – and eight of the last 11 – but overall have won only nine of their 16 home knockout phase matches in the competition (D3 L4).
  • City had won four successive games against Spanish clubs before being held 0-0 at Atlético in the quarter-final second leg.
  • That made City's record against Spanish clubs in two-legged knockout ties W3 L4, their 2019/20 success against Real Madrid having ended a run of four successive defeats. That win against Madrid was also their first aggregate victory against Liga opponents in the UEFA Champions League, having twice lost to Barcelona in the round of 16, in both 2013/14 (1-4 aggregate) and 2014/15 (1-3 agg), and Madrid in the 2015/16 semi-finals.
  • The Cityzens won their first home knockout game against Spanish visitors, defeating Athletic Club 3-0 in the 1969/70 European Cup Winners' Cup first round second leg (6-3 aggregate) but were without a victory in their next four matches (D2 L2) before beating Madrid two seasons ago.
  • City's home record against Spanish sides is now W6 D3 L2, both defeats coming against Barcelona.
  • Real Madrid
    This is Madrid's 31st European Cup semi-final overall, with the record W16 L14:
    1955/56 AC Milan W 5-4 (4-2 h, 1-2 a)
    1956/57 Manchester United W 5-3 (3-1 h, 2-2 a)
    1957/58 Vasas W 4-2 (4-0 h, 0-2 a)
    1958/59 Atlético de Madrid W 2-1 replay (2-1 h, 0-1 a)
    1959/60 Barcelona W 6-2 (3-1 h, 3-1 a)
    1961/62 Standard Liège W 6-0 (4-0 h, 2-0 a)
    1963/64 Zürich W 8-1 (2-1 a, 6-0 h)
    1965/66 Inter W 2-1 (1-0 h, 1-1 a)
    1967/68 Manchester United L 3-4 (0-1 a, 3-3 h)
    1972 73 Ajax L 1-3 (1-2 a, 0-1 h)
    1975/76 Bayern München L 1-3 (1-1 h, 0-2 a)
    1979/80 Hamburg L 3-5 (2-0 h, 1-5 a)
    1980/81 Inter W 2-1 (2-0 h, 0-1 a)
    1986/87 Bayern München L 2-4 (1-4 a, 1-0 h)
    1987/88 PSV Eindhoven L 1-1 away goals (1-1 h, 0-0 a)
    1988/89 AC Milan L 1-6 (1-1 h, 0-5 a)
    1997/98 Borussia Dortmund W 2-0 (2-0 h, 0-0 a)
    1999/00 Bayern München W 3-2 (2-0 h, 1-2 a)
    2000/01 Bayern München L 1-3 (0-1 h, 1-2 a)
    2001/02 Barcelona W 3-1 (2-0 a, 1-1 h)
    2002/03 Juventus L 3-4 (2-1 h, 1-3 a)
    2010/11 Barcelona L 1-3 (0-2 h, 1-1 a)
    2011/12 Bayern München, L 1-3 on penalties (1-2 a, 2-1 h)
    2012/13 Borussia Dortmund L 3-4 (1-4 a, 2-0 h)
    2013/14 Bayern München W 5-0 (1-0 h, 4-0 a)
    2014/15 Juventus L 2-3 (1-2 a, 1-1 h)
    2015/16 Manchester City W 1-0 (0-0 a, 1-0 h)
    2016/17 Atlético de Madrid W 4-2 (3-0 h, 1-2 a)
    2017/18 Bayern München W 4-3 (2-1 a, 2-2 h)
    2020/21 Chelsea L 1-3 (1-1 h, 0-2 a)

  • Madrid had won three successive semi-final ties, having been beaten in five of the previous six, before losing to Chelsea last season.
  • This is Madrid's 15th appearance in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, a competition record, three more than Barcelona and Bayern.
  • Madrid won five of their six Group D games this season, the exception a stunning 2-1 defeat at home to debutants Sheriff on Matchday 2, as they finished first in their section for the third time in four seasons. Away from home they kept clean sheets in winning at Inter (1-0), Shakhtar Donetsk (5-0) and Sheriff (3-0).
  • The Merengues lost 1-0 at Paris in the round of 16 first leg, however, and looked to be heading out when they fell further behind in the Santiago Bernabéu, but Benzema struck three times in the final half-hour to earn a 3-1 second-leg win and 3-2 aggregate triumph.
  • The Frenchman followed that with another hat-trick in the quarter-final first leg at Chelsea, a 3-1 Madrid victory, and headed the decisive goal of the return in extra time, Madrid fighting back from 3-0 down on the night to go through 5-4 on aggregate.
  • Benzema's goals at Chelsea made him only the fourth player to score a hat-trick in successive UEFA Champions Lague matches and only the seventh to have hit three goals in more than one game in the same campaign.
  • Benzema has scored 12 goals in this season's UEFA Champions League, one behind top scorer Robert Lewandowski whose Bayern side were eliminated in the quarter-finals.
  • Madrid have won nine of their last 16 UEFA Champions League away games (D2 L5).
  • Under Zidane, Madrid also finished first in their section in 2020/21, picking up six of their ten points against Inter and sealing progress as group winners with a 2-0 home defeat of Borussia Mönchengladbach on Matchday 6.
  • Madrid then won both legs against Atalanta in the round of 16 (1-0 a, 3-1 h) before eliminating Liverpool in the quarter-finals (3-1 h, 0-0 a) prior to losing to Chelsea.
  • Zidane was replaced by Carlo Ancelotti in the summer, the Italian having guided Madrid to their tenth European Cup in 2013/14.
  • The Spanish side were second in the 2020/21 Liga, finishing two points behind neighbours Atlético.
  • Madrid have reached the semi-finals or better in ten of the last 12 UEFA Champions League campaigns, the exceptions their successive round of 16 eliminations by Ajax in 2018/19 and City in 2019/20.
  • Madrid's record in two-legged knockout ties against English clubs is now W10 L6. This season's quarter-final against Chelsea was their fifth aggregate victory in the last seven, although their last two UEFA Champions League campaigns have been ended by Premier League opponents – Chelsea last season and City in the 2019/20 round of 16.
  • Last season's defeat by Chelsea made it two wins and two losses from four ties against English opponents in European Cup semi-finals.
  • The first-leg victory at Chelsea this season ended the Merengues' five-game run without an away win against English clubs, a sequence that included three defeats. Madrid's overall away record against English clubs is now W7 D5 L8.

  • Links and trivia
    Between 2008 and 2012, Guardiola amassed 14 trophies as Barcelona coach, including the UEFA Champions League in 2009 and 2011 – beating Madrid in the semi-finals in the latter campaign – and three successive Liga titles (2009–11). Guardiola met Madrid 15 times as Barcelona coach (W9 D4 L2) and outscored the Merengues 33-15. In his playing days, Guardiola's Liga record against Madrid was W6 D5 L3.
  • Guardiola's Bayern München side lost 5-0 on aggregate to Madrid (0-1 a, 0-4 h) in the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League semi-finals.
  • Ancelotti was Chelsea manager between 2009 and 2011, winning the 2009/10 Premier League and FA Cup double. The Italian was also in charge of Everton between 2019 and 21. He has only beaten City once in seven meetings – a 2-0 victory as Chelsea coach in March 2011 – losing the other six.
  • Have played in England:
    Luka Modrić (Tottenham 2008–12)
    Gareth Bale (Southampton 2005–07, Tottenham 2007–13, 2020/21 loan)
    Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea 2014–18)
    Eden Hazard (Chelsea 2012–19)
    Dani Ceballos (Arsenal 2019–21 loan)
  • Have played in Spain:
    Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Club 2012–18)
    Rodri (Villarreal 2016–18, Atlético Madrid 2018/19)
  • International team-mates:
    Ederson, Gabriel Jesus & Éder Militão, Rodrygo, Vinícius Júnior, Casemiro (Brazil)
    Kevin De Bruyne & Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois (Belgium)
    İlkay Gündoğan & Toni Kroos (Germany)
    Aymeric Laporte, Rodri & Nacho, Dani Carvajal, Isco, Marco Asensio, Lucas Vázquez, Dani Ceballos (Spain)
  • Laporte played every minute as Spain reached the semi-finals of UEFA EURO 2020, knocking out Modrić's Croatia in the round of 16.
  • A Benzema goal helped France beat a Spain side containing Rodri and Laporte 2-1 in the final of the UEFA Nations League on 10 October 2021.
  • Sterling scored twice as England won 3-2 against a Spain side containing Nacho and Marco Asensio – with Rodri an unused substitute – in the UEFA Nations League in October 2018.